(Vatican Radio) It was through Blessed John XXIII that diplomatic relations were
established between Turkey and the Holy See.
In fact John XXIII served as
papal representative in this nation from 1934 to 1945 when he was appointed papal
nuncio to Paris. A nation he grew to love and whose people as he wrote in his
diary 'Journal of a soul' , he felt he had a lot to learn from. Certainly this Turkish
experience impacted in his formation in terms of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue.
On
one occasion he wrote that 'we have a duty to be like the fishermen of the Bosphorus:
"Every
evening from the window of my room I see an assemblage of boats. they come round from
the Golden Horn in tens and hundreds; they gather at a given rendez-vous and then
they light up some more brilliantly than others, offering a most impressive spectacle
of colours and lights...
The other night. towards one o'clock it was pouring
with rain but the fishermen were still there, undeterred from their heavy toil. Oh
how ashamed we should be, we fishers of men before such an example...We must do as
the fishermen of the Bosphorus do , work day and night , with our torches lit, each
in his own little boat , at the orders of our spiritual leaders : that is our grave
and solemn duty".
In this programme you can hear how Benedict XVI, now pope
emeritus, speaks of John XXIII during his visit to Turkey in November 2006 and also
the memories of a former Vatican diplomat Monsignor Charles Burton Mouton who once
lived in Roncalli's former house discovering while leafing through the books in the
library some hand written comments.
Listen to this programme presented
and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick: